Catalyzing Innovation in 22@Nord
Barcelona’s 22@Nord district, often referred to as the former “Catalan Manchester,” is poised to become the epicenter of digital knowledge and innovation. This transformation aligns with Barcelona’s commitment to technology, engagement, and education, setting the stage for the implementation of the Valor del Districte Platform to support resident and public investment criteria.
Abstract
The Valor del Districte Platform aims to support Barcelona’s 22@Nord district’s transformation into a thriving, inclusive, and sustainable hub of economic activity. Focused on the creative and green sectors, the platform addresses market challenges such as distressed office spaces and the need for diverse housing options. The project focused on utilizing Barcelona’s rich network of APIs to inform stakeholders, including residents, businesses, and developers, about market conditions and opportunities. This purpose of the platform is to realize Barcelona’s strategic investments in 22@Nord by engaging different stakeholders through layered information and resources that meet their varied real estate demands.
22@Nord’s transitional pipeline positions the former “Catalan Manchester” to be the center of digital knowledge and innovation. To align development with Barcelona’s spirit of technology, engagement, and education, a Valor del Districte Platform may support resident and public investment criteria.
Purpose of the Platform
The goals of the platform are to address market challenges including high office vacancy, missing transit access, and collective need for new housing and amenities to serve its intended new residents as well as to inform stakeholders at risk of displacement.
Context
22@Nord’s historic single land-use strategy has been top-down and ineffective at realizing its locational value. The shift in the public’s focus towards social housing and the blue and green jobs will require both a mix of uses in new and adapted development as well as intentional residential set asides to deter the displacement of existing residents.
Formerly an industrial district, converted to a digital hub through attraction of technology and design companies, and central to Barcelona’s Green Deal investment strategy, 22@Nord’s underutilized land remains the key to meeting Barcelona’s lofty goals. 22@Nord failed to consider impacts on Civic Society and the Environment in the first 20 years of its development but since passed policies and initiated programs to drive a resilient and inclusive future. Barcelona’s commitments to physical and economic infrastructure through the BCN Green Deal and stakeholder support infrastructure through the Cultural Rights and Right to Housing Plans are strong starts to meeting Civic Society and Environmental goals.
Engagement Platform
22@Nord’s focus on digitization lends common interest in visualizing soft and hard infrastructure assets to support identification of available and underutilized land.
Stakeholder Mapping
The platform caters to a diverse range of stakeholders: current and future residents, businesses in target industries, and developers.
- Businesses benefit from both market insights and talent attraction support.
- Future residents, attracted talent, benefit from identified amenity hotspots by type. The BCN Green Deal plans to add 6,000 jobs in target industries to the district.
- Lower-income residents are connected resources to mitigate displacement risks.
- Developers gain information on potential opportunities, such as distressed office spaces and housing projects.
The platform acts as a unifying space, fostering collaboration and shared goals among stakeholders, thereby promoting a holistic and inclusive development approach and is aligned with the city’s vision for a sustainable and inclusive urban environment.
Expanding Through Barcelona’s APIs
Barcelona’s network of APIs plays a crucial role in the platform’s expansion. By tapping into this ecosystem, the platform can evolve over time, offering new functionalities and insights. The platform is envisioned to build nuance in the identification of office-to-residential and public investment opportunities by embedding vintage, vacancy, quality, and tenancy type characteristics in our existing dense calculation of mean value.
In support of the 22@ Barcelona Network’s advancement of the district, layers may be published with the location of 22@Nord companies, their supported investments, startups, knowledge centers, and instances of historic architectural and cultural significance. As a testing ground for innovative digital solutions, the District’s technology solution types and prototyped projects may be incorporated in the infrastructure, highlighting the catalytic value of their investments.
Residents of the district may engage with the platform to advocate for their needs and learn more about activities underway. Barcelona’s rich housing data, both cadastral and social, may be connected at the parcel-level to empower resident housing choice.
The integration of Barcelona’s 2021 Green Deal and the 22@ place-based strategy ensures that the platform aligns with the city’s broader goals, contributing to job creation, environmental improvements, and an enhanced living and working experience in the district.
Conclusions
The Valor del Districte Platform stands as a pivotal tool for steering 22@Nord towards its full potential. Learning from past experiences and leveraging data-driven insights, the platform ensures a holistic and forward-thinking approach to urban development. Barcelona’s commitment to innovation, sustainability, and inclusivity finds a powerful ally in the Valor del Districte Platform, setting the stage for 22@Nord to redefine itself as a global benchmark in urban planning.
Sources
- Adjustament de Barcelona
- 22@ Network Barcelona
- Opportunity Atlas
- Cushman & Wakefield
- Urban Sustainability Exchange
- California Association of Realtors
- California Department of Education
- La Vanguardia
